The Taoiseach took time off yesterday from a round of political meetings to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the location, according to Christian tradition, of Jesus's burial and Resurrection. It was part of his tour of landmarks in the "Eternal City", before his departure for Gaza.
His guide was Father Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, a Dominican priest who was born in Cork city and has lived in Jerusalem for 35 years. Mr Ahern was accompanied by his officials, the Irish Ambassador to Israel, Mr Brendan Scannell, and Irish journalists.
Six Israeli soldiers, armed with rifles, provided security, and when a car came speeding in Mr Ahern's direction, one of them brought it to a rapid halt with a threatening wave of his weapon. Mr Ahern walked under the Roman Arch, the beginning of the traditional Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus is said to have taken to his Crucifixion, passing Stations of the Cross along the way. In the church, Father Murphy-O'Connor pointed to the rectangular chamber which by tradition represents the place where the body of Jesus was laid.
Mr Ahern and his group were the focus of much local and tourist interest, as they made their way back to their official cars.
Earlier, Mr Ahern visited the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem for a wreath-laying ceremony. Afterwards he wrote a message in the visitors' book which included the phrase that it was "a sombre memorial to those who perished and were persecuted". He then visited the grave of the assassinated prime minister, Mr Yitzhak Rabin, to lay a wreath.
